I'm thinking of getting an external hard drive soon, because a) my computer is running out of room, b) I need something to back up to and c) I want to send it in to get the battery replaced and maybe some extra RAM, so I'd like to still be able to access my data on other machines.

Any recommendations?

You can replace the battery and install RAM yourself. The battery is a CR2032 lithium coin cell, pick-uppable from Boots or from my place of work Maplin for £1.99. If your PC is under warranty disregard my suggestions.

External hard disks, ask yourself some questions. You have two choices: Do you mind a largish thing about the size of a CD-ROM drive that plugs in to the mains, or would you prefer something smaller that doesn't require mains power? The former, 3.5" drives offer the option of using Firewire for increased data transfer speed over USB 2 (though useless if you don't have Firewire) and are cheaper per gigabyte. The smaller, 2.5" hard disks are slower and more expensive but consume less power and are far easier to carry around and store.

If you're going to get one, you should get one that comes with good backup software and features, and preferably one that has a manufacturer's warranty longer than a year. Here are some manufacturers that have produced external disks that have surpassed the competition in the comparison tests I've read about in the past: Western Digital (http://www.westerndigital.com), Seagate (http://www.seagate.com), LaCie (http://www.lacie.com). For buyage, try dabs.com (http://www.dabs.com), eBuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com), OcUK (http://www.overclockers.co.uk), More Computers (http://www.morecomputers.co.uk) and Aria (http://www.aria.co.uk).

I find Western digital to be very good. I've been using one for my windows for about five years now, it holds up fine. My Maxtor disk died two weeks before the one year warrent went out..

You can replace the battery and install RAM yourself. The battery is a CR2032 lithium coin cell, pick-uppable from Boots or from my place of work Maplin for £1.99. If your PC is under warranty disregard my suggestions.It's not under warranty (assuming the warranty is three years). The trick with that though is persuading my dad I can do it.

Are all laptop batteries the same then?

Desktop PC batteries are the same, but laptops I'm not sure of. They should be the same. RAM is usually easier to install on laptops - the slots sit under a removable panel although some will have you remove the keyboard to get to them, especially if the laptop is an ultra mobile kind. Your manual should tell you, but there may be more technical information on the manufacturer's web site or somewhere else on the web. Just search for your model number.

Just to be sure:
Paul, you have a laptop and want to change the main (accumulator) battery?
WorMatty seems to have talked about the CMOS lithium cell first.
Or do you want to change your CMOS battery in a laptop?

If you have a laptop, my suggestion of getting a fast internal S-ATA2 HDD won't help you.

If you get an external HDD make sure it has:
--an aluminium case for better thermal conduction
--a good stand with rubber thingies everywhere to prevent slipping (a friend of mine snatched his down from his desk with the powercord. -->doom)
--a power switch on the case (almost all external HDDs I have seen lack one and must be powered of by pulling the chord.)

And get a good one. Like Seagate, Western Digital or Samsung.
(I have 2 internal Samsung SP2504C S-ATA2 drives and am very satisfied.)

I want to change the one that charges up and allows me to run for a couple of hours away from mains power. If that's the accumulator one, then yes.

I think with all laptops, to remove the main battery you just slide a little slider thing and the battery pops right out. Then you just put a new one in.

They're meant to come out easily. Many people carry around extra batteries so that they can easily swap them when one gets low.


But in regards to hard drives, which is why you started the thread, it can be cheaper to buy the enclosure and then buy a normal internal drive and put the drive in the enclosure and use it as an external.

Something like one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?DEPA=0&type=&Description=Hard+Drive+Enclosure&Submit=ENE&Ntk=all&N=0&minPrice=&maxPrice=

I want to change the one that charges up and allows me to run for a couple of hours away from mains power. If that's the accumulator one, then yes.
That should be an easy task then. No need to send the notebook in.
Installing new RAM could be more complicated.

Duhh, Matty buy battery for laptop to make works. Matty use battery size of 2p coin for ... 0.00002 seconds life! Huh, huh, huh.

Well, I've bought one, a Freecom 80GB model.

At PC World they said that Evesham laptops have to be sent in to get their batteries replaced... :-/

At PC World they said that Evesham laptops have to be sent in to get their batteries replaced... :-/
What the...?
I hope you don't have to pay for the shipping & installation, but for the battery only.

Oh, yeah, and I bought a headset with a mic at the same time too. So I don't have to rely on my computer's tiny mic any more.

Don't always depend on what PC World staff tell you.

If the battery is only accessible by dismantling the laptop I can imagine that's true. It may void the warranty, otherwise.

If the battery is only accessible by dismantling the laptop I can imagine that's true. It may void the warranty, otherwise.It's over three years old anyway.

I'd recommend LaCie - their drives are a slight more expensive than others, but they're great. They do one that runs off FireWire or USB (a lot of their drives have the option of FW800, FW400 and USB1/2, so you can run them off practically any computer), doesn't need mains power and has a nice rubber protective case around it.

Trouble is, an 80Gb drive like that one costs around about £130.... they do cheaper drives though that aren't as rugged.

I'd recommend LaCie - their drives are a slight more expensive than others, but they're great. They do one that runs off FireWire or USB (a lot of their drives have the option of FW800, FW400 and USB1/2, so you can run them off practically any computer), doesn't need mains power and has a nice rubber protective case around it.

Trouble is, an 80Gb drive like that one costs around about £130.... they do cheaper drives though that aren't as rugged.Er, I've got one now Tom. Check Post #11.

Sorry :o Kind of speed-read the thread.

Anyway, my post can serve as advice for anyone in OD who may wish to buy a hard drive and looks at this thread for help :)